Episode 1371: What is Sabermetrics?
Date May 4, 2019 Summary Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Noah Syndergaard‘s True Win, an 81-pitch complete game for Kyle Hendricks, the AL Central after Corey Kluber‘s injury and the Twins’ hot start to the season, Tyler Glasnow’s breakout, the Chris Archer trade in review, the impermanence of coaching success, and the latest comments about the baseball by David Price and Rob Manfred, then (28:43) talk to Jeopardy! phenom James Holzhauer about how sabermetrics influenced his future career, his history of betting on baseball, his former (and future?) aspirations of working for an MLB team, how his Jeopardy! strategy (and the backlash to his success) is analogous to baseball, the future of gambling on baseball, how other contestants treat him, how he studies baseball and follows baseball, what other game shows he’d excel at, how Jeopardy! could stop contestants like him, and more. Topics * Interview with James Holzhauer * James' interest in baseball and sabermetrics * Betting professionally on sports * Pursuing work in a MLB front office * Applying James' Jeopardy! strategy to baseball * Mix of luck and skill in Jeopardy! * How to prepare for Jeopardy! * Developing betting projections * How to make Jeopardy! harder * Jeopardy! analytics and records Intro Yo La Tengo, "If it's True" Interstitial Dan Mangan, "Jeopardy" Outro Shout Out Louds, "Too Late Too Slow" Episode outtake sound clip Banter * Ben and Meg wonder if they would be good on Jeopardy! Both like trivia; Meg says that her family has banned her from playing Trivial Pursuit with them. * Episode 1358 follow-up: Noah Syndergaard had a True Win. * Kyle Hendricks threw a CGSO on just 81 pitches. * Status of the AL Central race in light of Corey Kluber's injury and the Twins' hot start. * Tyler Glasnow's breakout, Austin Meadows, and the Chris Archer trade * Pittsburgh Pirates inability to continue adapting player development methods * David Price and Rob Manfred's comments about potential changes to the baseball Notes * True Wins are rarer than no-hitters since 1908. In that span there have been 208 True Wins. * Rob Manfred acknowledged that there may have been changes to the baseball but says that it was not intentional and due to random variation because the balls are handmade. * MLB's report into the changes to the baseball was discussed in Episode 1222. * James thinks that his gambling background has made him more comfortable with his Jeopardy! strategy than other contestants. He sees himself as a 'maximizer' that seeks to get as much out of every opportunity as possible. * James read a lot of childrens books to learn a little bit about each subject since he felt Jeopardy! rewards more general surface level knowledge. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 1371: What is Sabermetrics? * What Noah Syndergaard did is so rare -- it deserves it own name by Sam Miller * Tyler Glasnow, Aflame by Ben Clemens * The Rays' latest Reclamation Project Has Been the Shock of the American League by Michael Baumann * Tyler Glasnow on Embracing (and Controlling) the Cut by David Laurila * Is MLB's ball juiced? Home runs are being hit at record pace and pitchers just want the truth by Bob Nightengale * 2015 Jeopardy question about sabermetrics * Why Jeopardy champion James Holzhauer first saw himself in a MLB front office by Marc Carig * Jeopardy!'s James Holzhauer is a menace by Charles Lane * The Man Who Solved 'Jeopardy!' by Oliver Roeder * The Battle For 'Jeopardy!' Supremacy by Oliver Roeder Category:Episodes Category:Guest Episodes